The end of an era..
Tonight I sold the BMW on Craigslist and have already placed the Harley with a friend to be sold for a fee. I am out of the motorcycle life.
Many people have asked me if I regret it, and occasionally I think what fun it would be to ride, but at the same time, I can’t help but think that it doesn’t matter how fun or how careful I was, I could still get creamed in such a way as to really ruin my family’s lives, even if I survive.
The proverbial camel straw was an article about a couple that wore full gear and drove carefully on their bike. Inseparable since high school, they were out riding one day when a woman struck them. Inseparable in life, they died within hours of each other at the hospital. I realized that it didn’t matter how careful I was, or how much gear I wore, I was just a walking percentage. It didn’t hurt that I was starting to approach the age where my reflexes and vision will deteriorate.
This is the cause of many middle aged bike accidents, because riders don’t appreciate their slight perceptual deterioration. So I’m done with the bikes. I’ll miss them, but I’m sure I’d miss my family more if I got plowed.
that’s horrible (the story), and a bit sobering.
my old coworker gave his bike up recently too, for pretty much the same reasons.
i imagine my viewpoint will certainly change a bit when i have a kid.
The reason I think of this as “Aging Gracefully” is exactly what you describe. There’s a time for bikes (and clubbing and excessive drinking) and then there’s a time to be done with it. While everyone is different, my time for that is now greatly reduced or over.
However everyone’s at a different place in their life, and that has everything to do with one’s personal decision…